MyLanguage - Hold on to your home language

Immigrant children with speech or language impairment
by Kathryn Kohnert

Kathryn Kohnert is an associate professor in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences at the University of Minnesota. She was awarded the doctoral degree in Language and Communication Disorders from the joint program at San Diego State University and the University of California at San Diego in 2000. She has been a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association since 1992. Dr. Kohnert’s research program is designed to advance understanding of language acquisition and use in diverse populations, particularly bilingual children and adults with and without language impairment. She has received numerous awards for her research, teaching and service contributions.

Immigrant children often learn one language at home and another language in school. Children growing up in Canada need English to be successful in school and in the community. The importance and success of English learning does not, however, discount the continued importance of the child’s home language. Children need to be able to communicate with their parents, grandparents and other family members to develop and maintain strong relationships. Parents need to be able to talk to their children to express love and affection, to teach values, to guide them in making good life-decisions and to discipline. Teen-agers who do not communicate with their parents are more likely to engage in risky behaviors. On the positive side, children who speak their home language as well as English may have higher self-esteem and do better in school than immigrant children who speak only English. This is also true for children with speech or language impairments.

For immigrant children with speech or language impairment more, not less, support in the home language is needed. By helping children to develop their home language, strong family and cultural connections can be maintained. These strong connections are needed to help support the child’s learning and communication. Also, improved skills in the home language will help, not hurt, the learning of English. On the other hand, interventions that focus only on English and do not value the home language are short-sighted and may have unintended negative long-term consequences. Find as many meaningful ways as possible to encourage your child’s learning and use in the home language.

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